Grating

ABSTRACT

A grating for use as a cover for a channel, basin, or trough pit or as a shoe cleaner, consisting of a number of bars arranged parallel to each other and connected in the transverse direction by holding elements spaced from each other.

[ 1 Jan. 28, 1975 United States Patent 1 Arens 1 GRATING [56] ReferencesCited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 20.267 9/1896 GreatBritain........,.....m...... l5/2l5 572.592 9/]944 GreatBritain.l........ .........,..l 52/665 [22] Filed:

Appl. No.: 391,884

R I g d U S A n i D Irimury liruminvr-Daniel Blum Continuation of Ser.No. 234,844, March 15, I972 abandoned.

Armrney, Agent, or Firm-Norman S. Blodgctt; Gerry A. Blodgett [57]ABSTRACT A grating for use as a cover for a chann [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data Mar. 16, 1971 el, basin, or

Germany.....,..........l.......... 2112573 trough pit or as a shoecleaner, consisting of a number of bars arranged parallel to each otherand connected in the transverse direction by holding elements spacedfrom each other.

,M4 0002 3 min 52 2 /0 S 1 mmh c r Na He C d Ld U.mF mum 555 [ii 5Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEB JAN 2 8 I975 SHEEI 10F 3 1 GRATINGThis is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 234,844 filed Mar. 15,1972, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Gratings and mats exist in a well-developedart with a variety of different designs available. For example, it isknown to provide lined-up bars, which are parallel and which areconnected by tension wires which penetrate, in certain places,transverse hole with which the bars are equipped. To maintain the spacebetween adjacent bars separating elements are placed on the wire or oncorresponding connecting members. Gratings of this type are expensive tomake mainly because the tension wires or similar connecting elementshave to be guided on the different places not only through theindividual bars, strips etc., but additionally through the separatingelements between the bars. However, it is also well-known to providegratings in which the parallel bars consist of hollow extruded shapes,which are kept together at their open ends by fixed pins or head stripshaving teeth. On such gratings the disadvantage is that the bars areonly connected to each other on their ends, if holding elements such astension wires or similar connecting elements with separating elementsare not used. Gratings in which the bars are connected only on theirends can be made only of small width. In some cases, the connecting ofthe bars by head bars is disadvantageous because of requirements for astiffer support which will not permit one to make the supports for thebars wider as would be required by the thickness of the head bars.Finally, during use of gratings of the last-described design, attentionhas to be paid to the fact that the support for the bars may not bedisplaced lengthwise of the bars. The holding elements may then loosenup because of loss of the holding teeth. These and other difficultiesexperienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novelmanner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide agrating in which a plurality of bars of any length may be connectedeasily with one another and may be equipped with any number of holdingelements located at any location along the length of the bars.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a grating includingan assembly system having standardized elements that can be incorporatedin a large range of sizes.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a gratingmade up of elements which are simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture, and which are capable of a long life of service with aminimum of maintenance.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON In general, the invention consists of a gratinghaving bars formed of extruded shapes designed with undercut lengthwisegrooves on one side and having holding elements which are undercuttransversely of their lengths. Head elements are arranged spaced fromeach other on a carrier bar, which may be pushed from the open ends intothe grooves of the bars and which are form-locked in place.

According to a further development of the characteristic of thisinvention, the head bars and the carrier bars 5 are formed of one piece,which, on the opposite side of the head bar is equipped with an undercutprofile longitudinal groove for the attachment of similarly undercutstiffener or holder with an extruded shape.

According to this invention, each carrier bar can be designed with headparts which are positioned in sideby-side relationship and equallyspaced. For practical purposes, the length of the carrier bar is amultiple of the length of the distance between two head parts and atleast on one end is equipped with a cross-section half of the head part.With this design of holding elements, it is possible to line up a numberof them side-by-side to form a grate or a mat and two neighboringcarrier bars are always touching in the area of the grate bars.

It is within the concept of this invention that each head part has itsown carrier bar and its length corresponds to the width of the bars andthat a number of head parts touch directly the ends of their carrierbars. By the centering of corresponding spacers on the carrier bars theyform holding elements and are pushed onto the stiffener or holdingelements. This design of holding elements has the special advantage thatspacers of different length may be used and for that reason gratings ofany length may be fabricated and the spacing between the bars can beselected of different amounts. It also could be possible in certaincases to make gratings in which the bars within different areas of thegrating could have different divisions.

According to this invention, the bars, formed as extrusions, could bemade from metal, plastic, or rubber and could carry brush strips ontheir upper sides.

A further characteristic of this invention is that the holding elementfor the head bars and carrier bars consists of material which resistsdeformation, such as metal, hard plastic, or hard rubber. They also maybe fabricated of elastic materials such as rubber or plastic. Asstiffeners for the holding bars, materials are preferably used which aremade at least partially out of metal, such as light metal alloy, and areequipped with elements which support the carrier bars and holdingelements from beneath. These support elements can receive extrudedshapes which correspond to the desired stress requirements in a givensituation.

According to this invention, it is especially of advantage when theholding element is designed as a molded body (by which the undercutparts present on the carrier bar can accept the stiffener or hollowelements) protrusions are provided spaced from each other longitudinallyand positioned in such a way that the arrangement of these parts are onopposite sides but always face a space. The protrusions which are formedby the undercut parts can be designed to be reduced from thelongitudinal center toward the edges of the holding elements, i.e., inthe shape of a trapezoid. The end edges of two protrusions opposing oneanother with a space can be positioned in the same inclined planerelative to the longitudinal axis of the holding elements. Holdingelements designed in such a way may be fabricated easily by molding ofrubber, plastic, or even metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The character of the invention,however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structuralforms,

as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a prospective view of a grating embodying the principles ofthe present invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-Il of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view ofa grating, but with a modification thereof,

FIG. 4 shows a further modification of the grating,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the grating taken on the line V-V of FIG.1,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the grating taken on the line VI-VI ofFIG. 2,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VIlVll of FIG. 3,

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a modification of a component of thegrating,

FIGS. 9 and 10 show side and bottom views, respectively of a modifiedform ofa component of the grating,

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the component shown in FIGS. 9 and I0, and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of individual components for a modifiedform of the grating.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIGS. 1,2 and5, it can be seen that a grate according to this invention can be used,for example, to cover channels, pits, etc., or as a mat which can beused as a shoe scraper. It is equipped with a number of bars 1 arrangedparallel to each other and connected by a holder formed of severalholding elements 2 extending transversely of the bars, the latter beingheld spaced from each other. The bars I are designed as hollowstructural or extruded shapes made from plastic longitudinal andequipped with one undercut longitudinal groove 3.

For the connection of the bars I with each other, holding elements 2 arepushed into the grooves 3 of the open bar ends. These are in turnequipped with bases or holding blocks and head pieces 4 or undercutprotuberances arranged transversely of the longitudinal direction of theholding elements 2. They have profiles corresponding in shape to theshape of the undercut grooves 3. By means of these head pieces 4, theextruded bars I are locked to the holding elements 2 in a simple way andmaintained at the desired spacing.

As can be clearly seen in FIG. I, the grating bars are easily andwithout considerable expenditure of work, fitted to any requirements forthe number of bars 1 and holding elements 2. Also, the holding elements2 with the undercut head piece 4 can be made from plastic or the like.The requirements for usage determine if stiff or flexible grating is tobe made. This also will determine if the holding elements 2 with theirhead pieces 4 are to be made of bend-resisting material or from elasticmaterial.

In the preferred form of the invention the holding elements 2 areequipped with a groove 5 open to the underside and undercut. Into thisgroove 5 can be pressed, if necessary, a stiffener or holding profile 6or stiffening element, 6, which is equipped with a correspondinglongitudinal web part. This stiffener and holding profile 6 can be madeof hard plastic or hard rubber. However, it is especially desirable tomake it out of light metal to achieve high resistance to bending.

The holding elements 2 with their head pieces 4 could extend, withoutany interruption, over the entire length of the grating and alsotransversely of the length of the bars 1. In this design the bar I couldbe of trapezoidal shape in cross-section, as indicated in FIG. 2. On itstop side, the bars 1 are equipped with brush strips 7 as can be seen inFIG. 3.

It is also possible to design the bars I as rectangular pipes cut openlongitudinally as shown in FIG. 4. In general, the shape of thesectional bars or strips 1 is not significant, as long as there ispresent an undercut longitudinal groove 3 for the engagement ofsimilarlyshaped head parts 4 of the holding elements 2.

Comparison of FIGS. 5 and 6 will show clearly that. according torequirements. reinforcing and holding profiles 6 of various longitudinalcross-sections of the holding elements 2, may be pressed into theundercut grooves 5. The reinforcement or holding profile 6 (according toFIG. 6) has in addition to its undercut profiled longitudinal web, onlya flat support flange 9 which supports the holding elements 2 on itsentire width. The thickness of this support flange 9 may be made to suitthe load requirements.

According to FIG. 5, the reinforcing or holding profile 6 is equipped,in addition to the profiled longitudinal web 8 and the support flange 9,with two side bars 10 as stiffeners.

FIG. 8 shows clearly a reinforcing or holding profiles 6 which can bemade also from a pipe-shaped element 11 which is equipped on its topwith an undercut longitudinal web 8.

Naturally, it is possible to use the holding elements 2 without anyreinforcing or holding profiles 6, as can be seen in FIG. 7. In thiscase, the undercut profiled longitudinal grooves of the holding element2 are then left free and open.

The holding element shown in the FIGS. 9 to II for the connection of anumber of profiled bars I to form a grating differs from those shown inFIGS. 1 to '7 mainly in that on the underside no undercut longitudinalgroove 5 is present. It is equipped, however, in its cross-section withL-shaped additions l2 which are spaced from each other on bothlongitudinal edges of the holding elements 2 with their free legsdirected toward each other. Every addition 12 on one longitudinal edgeof the bar is opposed by a space between the additions, arranged on theother side of the bar. as can be seen especially in FIG. 10. Holdingelements 2 designed in this way are easily made by injection moldingbecause all profiled parts are positioned in such a way that the profileinsertion of the mold engages in the same direction.

A further design of the holding elements according to the FIGS. 9 to 11provides that they carry on each end a cross-section half 14 of headpart 4. With this type of design, it is possible to arrange several ofthe holding elements in contact with each other. the touching ends ofthe neighboring holding elements 2 within one profiled bar 1 beingconnected by the side-by-side head part halves I4. A special variabledesign of grates or mats will result, when the profiled bars I areconnected in a grating by a holding element design as shown in FIG. 12.According to FIG. I2, each holding element 2 is equipped with only oneundercut profiled head part 4. In the direction transverse to theprofile of the head part 4, the holding element 2 is equipped with theundercut groove 5. These holding elements 2 are pushed individuallylongitudinally of the undercut profiled web 8 of a reinforcing orholding profile 6 where between two successive holding elements 2 ispushed a spacer or spacer block equipped with an undercut longitudinalgroove 16. This spacer 15 determines the distance between two successiveholding elements 2 and also the distance between the neighboringprofiled bars 1. Since the spacer 15 may be made in any length, it ispossible for practically every selected distance between the gratingbars 1 to be obtained with the holding element arrangement shown in FIG.12.

The number of the previously described designs makes it clear that agrating made according to this invention is much simpler and easier tomake than those previously known. Without any difficulty, a grating madein accordance with this invention may be adjusted to varying stressrequirements, because on one hand the selection of the holding element 2may be easily changed according to those requirements and, in addition,everyone of these holding elements 2 may additionally be stiffened byinsertion of reinforcing or holding elements.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent 1. A grating comprising:

a. a plurality of elongated holding elements spaced from and parallel toone another,

i. each holding element being provided with an elongated stiffener, and

ii. each holding element being formed of separate a plurality of holdingelement portions in contact with one another,

l. some of the holding element portions having an undercut head piece onone side, the head piece being of constant cross-section for asubstantial length, and

2. each portion having groove means for fixing the holding elementportion to the stiffener on another side, and

b. a plurality of elongated bars of extruded shape,

held parallel to one another and extending transversely of the holdingelements,

i. each bar having a longitudinal undercut groove of cross-sectioncorresponding to that of the head piece, which groove forms a lockingnonrotational engagement with each of at least two of the undercut headpieces, and

ii. the holding elements forming the only connection between adjacentbars.

2. A grating as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the holdingelement portions has more than one undercut head piece extending from aside.

3. A grating as recited in claim 1, wherein the length of each holdingelement portion corresponding to a multiple of the center-to-centerdistance between undercut head pieces and for at least one pair ofadjacent holding element portions, each member of the pair has acomplimentary part of an undercut head piece.

4. A grating according to claim 1, wherein a spacer, which is providedwith means for fixing it to a stiffener but is not provided with anundercut head piece is fixed to the stiffener between two adjacentholding element portions which have head pieces.

5. A grating as recited in claim 1, wherein the bars carry a brush-likesurface on a portion of the bars opposed to the groove.

1. A grating comprising: a. a plurality of elongated holding elementsspaced from and parallel to one another, i. each holding element beingprovided with an elongated stiffener, and ii. each holding element beingformed of separate a plurality of holding element portions in contactwith one another,
 1. some of the holding element portions having anundercut head piece on one side, the head piece being of constantcross-section for a substantial length, and
 2. each portion havinggroove means for fixing the holding element portion to the stiffener onanother side, and b. a plurality of elongated bars of extruded shape,held parallel to one another and extending transversely of the holdingelements, i. each bar having a longitudinal undercut groove ofcrosssection corresponding to that of the head piece, which groove formsa locking non-rotational engagement with each of at least two of theundercut head pieces, and ii. the holding elements forming the onlyconnection between adjacent bars.
 2. each portion having groove meansfor fixing the holding element portion to the stiffener on another side,and b. a plurality of elongated bars of extruded shape, held parallel toone another and extending transversely of the holding elements, i. eachbar having a longitudinal undercut groove of cross-section correspondingto that of the head piece, which groove forms a locking non-rotationalengagement with each of at least two of the undercut head pieces, andii. the holding elements forming the only connection between adjacentbars.
 2. A grating as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of theholding element portions has more than one undercut head piece extendingfrom a side.
 3. A grating as recited in claim 1, wherein the length ofeach holding element portion corresponding to a multiple of thecenter-to-center distance between undercut head pieces and for at leastone pair of adjacent holding element portions, each member of the pairhas a complimentary part of an undercut head piece.
 4. A gratingaccording to claim 1, wherein a spacer, which is provided with means forfixing it to a stiffener but is not provided with an undercut head pieceis fixed to the stiffener between two adjacent holding element portionswhich have head pieces.
 5. A grating as recited in claim 1, wherein thebars carry a brush-like surface on a portion of the bars opposed to thegroove.